Real Estate & Construction

By BECKY GILLETTE With U.S. unemployment rates at the lowest levels seen in 17 years, the shortage of Mississippi construction workers has gone from bad to worse. Mississippi Construction Education Foundation (MCEF) President Mike Barkett said the construction worker shortage has become more acute because the economy has picked up. “There are more and more opportunities for construction contracts, but ...

By BECKY GILLETTE Predictions that the housing market in Mississippi would be good for both buyers and sellers this year apparently have been borne out despite higher mortgage interest rates and concerns about a short supply of homes available for sale, particularly in the affordable range. Mississippi Realtors President for 2018, Karen Glass, who is also a managing broker for ...

By NASH NUNNERY Adam Watkins officially launched his real estate career the day he graduated from William Carey College (now University) nearly two decades ago. There were no smart phones, text messaging, Realtor.com or Zillow. The highest tech tool used in real estate transactions was the fax machine. Comparatively, the process of buying and selling homes now is immersed in ...

Argent Trust Co. and its Argent Family Wealth Services have opened a new office in Oxford. The location at 613 South Lamar Boulevard, a National Historic Landmark building, accommodates a larger staff who provide a wider range of wealth management services. Family Wealth Services Managing Director Mark Hartnett will lead the expanded team and focus on further growing Argent’s presence ...

By JACK WEATHERLY The Quarter is getting a new look and a new function. The retail and office center on Lakeland Drive in Jackson just west of the Pearl River is becoming a mixed-use development. The StateStreet Group is adding 12 loft apartments, expanding some retail space and giving The Quarter’s facades a fresh look. The Quarter was built in ...

Did you lose your property because of a tax sale? Did you buy property at a tax sale in August? Did your mortgage company pay your real estate taxes? There are two times during any given calendar year that the subject of unpaid property taxes is certain to make the news. The first is February-March, when the list of properties ...

By JACK WEATHERLY Oxford is growing. In many cases, that means sprawl, anathema for city planners. But for this college town (the University of Mississippi for you extraterrestrials) with its classic Southern architecture The Lamar will be an “extension” of the town square and all its history and amenities, said Kimberly Sharp, consultant for the developers. “We don’t in any ...

Dinesh Chawla By Jack Weatherly After extensive redesign, the Scion West End hotel complex is moving forward in the construction phase. That’s the word from Dinesh Chawla, president of Chawla Hotels Inc., which is building the $20 million project in west Cleveland. Things were moving toward a completion in late 2017, when Chawla and his brother, Suresh, signed a deal ...

By Jack Weatherly No one was in a hurry to buy the building that houses the UA Northpark 14. That was obvious after its owner, United Development Co. of Southlake, Texas, put it on the market in early 2016. It failed to get a buyer in more than two years. The owner then tried to auction the 36,000-square-foot building ...